As a result of the development of larger antennas and improved electronics, the DSN command capabilities and telemetry data rates have increased dramatically over the years. For example, in 1965 Mariner 4 transmitted from Mars at a rate of only 8⅓ bits of information per second. In 1969, Mariners 6 and 7 transmitted picture data from Mars at 16 200 bits per second. Mariner 10, in 1973, achieved 117 200 bits per second from Mercury. Voyager operates at a similar rate from Jupiter, about six times farther away. Many of these improvements in data transmission result from changes in the DSN rather than in the spacecraft transmitters.
Problems with hydrazine management developed, however. Voyager 1’s first trajectory correction maneuver achieved only 80 percent of the required speed change. Exhaust plumes from the thrusters apparently struck part of the spacecraft, causing a 20 percent loss in velocity. That being the case, Voyager might require more fuel than had been expected to complete the mission. The extra fuel requirements did not threaten Voyager 1 itself, since it held ample fuel to reach Saturn; the concern was for Voyager 2, where the effective loss of fuel might be enough to jeopardize the Uranus mission.
Because of the plume impingement problem on Voyager 1, Voyager 2’s first trajectory correction maneuver was adjusted to allow for the possibility of a 20 percent loss in thrust. The Voyager 2 maneuver was successful, but controllers felt that additional action was required to conserve fuel. One way to save was by reducing requirements on control of the spacecraft orientation. Less control fuel would be needed if the already miniscule pressure exerted on the spacecraft by the solar wind could be reduced. Flight engineers at JPL calculated that the pressure would be reduced if the spacecraft were tipped upside down; however, to accomplish this, the spacecraft would have to be steered by a new set of guide stars. By reprogramming the attitude control system it was found possible to substitute the northern star, Deneb, in the constellation of Cygnus, for the original reference star, Canopus, in the southern constellation of Carina. With this change, as well as readjustment of Voyager 2’s trajectory near Jupiter, inflight consumption of hydrazine was reduced significantly.
In late August 1978 both Voyagers were reprogrammed to ensure better science results at Jupiter encounter; for example, the reprogramming would prevent imaging (TV) photographs from blurring when the tape recorder was operating. By early November, flight crews had begun training exercises to rehearse for the Voyager 1 flyby of Jupiter on March 5, 1979. A near encounter test was performed on December 12-14, 1978: a complete runthrough of Voyager 1’s 39-hour near encounter period, which would take place March 3-5, 1979. Participants included the flight team, the Deep Space Network tracking stations, the scientists, and the spacecraft itself. Results: Voyager and the Voyager team were all ready for the encounter.
Meanwhile, the spacecraft were busy returning scientific data to Earth. Technically, the Voyagers were in the cruise phase of the mission—a period that, for Voyager 2, would last until April 24, 1979, and for Voyager 1, until January 4, 1979, when each spacecraft would enter its respective observatory phase.
Cruise Phase Science
In the first few days after launch, the spacecrafts’ instruments were turned on and calibrated; various tests for each instrument would continue to be performed throughout the cruise phase. This period presented a great opportunity for the Voyagers to study the interplanetary magnetic fields, solar flares, and the solar wind. In addition, ultraviolet and infrared radiation studies of the sky were performed. In mid-September 1977 the television cameras on Voyager 1 recorded a number of photographs of the Earth and Moon. A photograph taken September 18 captured both crescent Moon and crescent Earth. It was the first time the two celestial bodies had ever been photographed together.
In November both Voyagers crossed the orbit of Mars, entering the asteroid belt a month later. On December 15, at a distance of about 170 million kilometers from Earth, Voyager 1 finally speeded past its slower twin. The journey through the asteroid belt was long but uneventful: Voyager 1 emerged safely in September 1978, and Voyager 2 in October. Unlike Pioneers 10 and 11, the Voyagers carried no instruments to look at debris in the asteroid belt.